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Friday, August 10

Letter to my Friends and Some Photos of our New Place

Dear Friends,we have been in St. Paul for about two weeks now, and I wanted to write a short update.We have had Brad's mother (his father for part of the time) with us for the past two weeks, and it was a big help. She took care of the kids while Brad and I worked on setting up our place, ran errands and checked out our neighborhood. Unfortunately she left today and not having had to worry about meals, grocery shopping or taking care of the kids on our own for a month now, it will be quite an adjustment.July just flew by and August seems to be doing the same now. The month of July was filled with friends and family time, sleeping in, swimming, good meals, and a whole week of "real" vacation.And now we are here.It has been a time of mixed emotions of course. Moving is hard, exhausting and overwhelming, and I have had this strange feeling of being afraid to meet new people. I think I am slowly getting out of that now.Walking around our neighborhood is overwhelming in its own way, in a good, beautiful way. There is just so much of the kind of beauty that I have been longing for, and I can't quite believe how much there is to do and see. I can walk to many places, I can bike to even more, I see trees and parks and people everywhere. Our street is so wonderfully quiet, and this whole city seems very (kid) friendly. We don't have a backyard, but as I am typing this, Lukas is playing in the front yards of our street with a couple new friends. A few days ago, there were about seven kids playing together that all live in our street somewhere. Apparently there are quite a few families in this neighborhood that are sending there kids to the german immersion school as well. I went there this morning and checked it out. A lot of the teachers are from Germany and are currently in Germany for the summer. Can I just say that that makes me happy? A piece of home. The building even reminded me of a school building that I went to as a kid. Can we please stay here for good?You can see that we are surrounded by a lot of good things.And yet I can't help but mention how much I miss my friends. Please come visit us.

mail box

flower pot in front of the entrance

our newly acquired dining room table ($30 from Craigslist) with room for lots of people

also there is room for big plants

Portland Ave ( the side walk that leads up to the house)

the house from the front (it's a four plex and we live on the bottom left)

4 comments:

Such a neat view into your new life. There is space for everything. I love the sidewalk view of your street and I am jealous of your Mexican mugs. Now I want to go to Mexico and get a set of those mugs.

When I put the girls to bed each night, we say a prayer for all of you that you will get settled smoothly, that Lukas will adjust to kindergarten well and have lots of courage and carry a bright light inside of him, and that this year will bring your family what you need.

I feel so deeply happy for you all, Manuela, having found a happy, comfortable home for the time being! For your sakes, I hope and pray to that it works out for you can stay longer. I used to live in that same area in college, and really loved it there, and am just feeling a big sigh of relief for you all because I know (from our own experience) the hard places you're coming from. I mean, just the little things--like S P A C E to spread out a little--are huge! And that's SO great and so sweet about the neighborhood kids playing together--warms my heart! Love your new place, and love your personal touches on it...just really excited for this new chapter of life for you! (And we would love to come visit sometime, too...I also still have several college friends there, so perhaps we should start planning something...)

Manuela, your new home is so beautiful!! I cam completely relate to the overwhelming beauty/newness/settling. I am one in the same time ecstatic about our new phase and yet still tentative in making the beginnings of new community. It's all part of the journey, right? We all send our love!